Precision Agriculture: Precision Resource Management - Phase VI

The problem facing most Kentucky landowners and farmers is the lack of appropriate and cost effective strategies to manage scarce and variable resources in a site-specific manner. Specific efforts in this project are split between developing and advancing geospatial technologies in support of three thrusts: i) agricultural systems, ii) land use planning and decision-making and iii) natural resource management in Kentucky. These thrusts are addressed by specific objectives within nine subprojects: 1) Reduced Equipment Set for Multiple Vehicle Guidance; 2) Crop Cut- Width Sensing for Improved Accuracy of Yield Monitor Data; 3) Development of a Novel Pneumatic Nozzle Control System for Variable-Rate Pesticide Application; 4) Optical Sensors to Improve Nitrogen Management in Com Production; 5) Precision Residue Removal for Biofuels: Yield or Organic Matter Map-Driven?; 6) Google Maps for Land Assessment Visualization; 7) Characterization of Headwater Seep Wetlands in Southeastern Kentucky; 8) Using Remotely- Sensed Imagery to Monitor Post-Fire Forest Dynamics; and 9) Spatial Prioritization for Invasive Species Management. The first four projects are classified as agricultural systems projects, the fifth project is a cross-over between agricultural systems and natural resource management, the sixth project is a combination of land use planning and natural resource management, with the remaining three projects being solely natural resource management. The overarching goals of the subprojects are as follows: 1) to develop a reduced equipment set for vehicle guidance substituting the RTK-based steering system in the tractor/cart in the grain harvesting operation; 2) to develop an automated sensing and processing approach for correcting effective cut-width errors with the goal of improving overall yield map accuracy ; 3) to develop pneumatically controlled spray nozzle technology to achieve flow rate control of individual nozzles while maintaining pattern uniformity and droplet size distributions; 4) to reduce the applied fertilizer N to the economically optimum nitrogen rate (ENOR) on a site specific basis; 5) to detennine the relationshipbetween soil organic matter and changes in soil properties and subsequent crop yield with residue removal; and the relationship between prior crop yield and changes in soil properties and subsequent crop productivity with residue removal; ; 6) to further develop a method to make existing publically available land use planning data visually available via the Internet through a Google Maps Application Programming Interface; 7) to provide detailed spatial information pertaining to the hydrology and geomorphic stability of headwater seep wetlands in the Frances Johnson Palk State Nature Preserve in Pulaski County, KY; 8) to examine the potential of remotely sensed imagery for monitoring forest dynamics following prescribed fire; and 9) to prioritize areas and identify hotspots for invasive plant management with the assumption that invasive control activities should be prioritized in areas where the invasive plant has the most ecological impacts, high potential for quick establishment or further spread, and where the invasion stage could be most effectively controlled.